


Scenario 25

by rideswraptors



Series: Kastle Scenarios [25]
Category: The Punisher (TV 2017)
Genre: F/M, I just have this "thing" about frank helping matt and karen mend fences
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-06
Updated: 2018-11-06
Packaged: 2019-08-19 13:48:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,863
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16535753
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rideswraptors/pseuds/rideswraptors
Summary: Frank slammed a hand on the table and jabbed a finger in her direction.“Tell her!”Matt scowled.“Fisk is being released.”Frank turned a look on her, lifting his brows impatiently. She wrinkled her nose at him.“I’ve been getting threats.”





	Scenario 25

Frank told Murdock to meet up at a diner that they didn’t frequent.  He didn’t need a co-worker coming in, asking too many questions, putting him and Murdock together in the same room. They all knew Karen. He smirked to himself as he threw an arm around her shoulders, guiding her down the street. Yeah, they knew her. 

 

They went in, Frank spotted Murdock in the back corner immediately. The red bastard was instantly on high alert, head tilted, shoulders tense, nostrils flared. Frank tilted his head toward Karen, quietly inhaling. Yeah, she was wearing that perfume he liked. Sharp and floral and just a little spicy. Murdock wouldn’t miss a thing like that. But Frank was blocking his exit, kept blocking it, and felt Karen go stiff next to him.

 

“Frank,” she said warningly. 

 

“Keep walkin’, honey.” 

 

“We are going to have a  _ conversation _ ,” she gritted between her teeth. Wouldn’t matter. Murdock heard it anyway. Frank turned his head to kiss her temple.

 

“Looking forward to it.” 

 

He ushered Karen to the booth and put a hand to Murdock’s chest, shoving him back a little. 

 

“Sit. Down. Now.” He kept his voice firm and steady. “We need to  _ talk _ .” 

 

*

 

Karen was Not Pleased. The last thing she wanted to do was talk to Matt freaking Murdock after everything that had happened. He was the Daredevil. Lied to her about a thousand things. Supposedly died and disappeared without a trace. Showed up, didn’t tell her, and then stormed back into her life demanding favors to help him with Fisk and lecturing her about Frank. Like he actually gave a shit. She sighed, sliding into the booth, Frank blocking her in purposely. That statement wasn’t entirely fair. Matt did care. He very obviously cared. He was just an  _ idiot _ . And she really didn’t appreciate Frank meddling and keeping her trapped there with him. They weren’t children and Frank wasn’t their babysitter. Except he kept looking between the two of them, who were being stubbornly silent. 

 

Frank slammed a hand on the table and jabbed a finger in her direction.

 

“Tell her!” 

 

Matt scowled.

 

“Fisk is being released.”

 

Frank turned a look on her, lifting his brows impatiently. She wrinkled her nose at him. 

 

“I’ve been getting threats.” 

 

*

 

Murdock finally stood to attention. Thank fuck. 

 

“ _ And _ ,” Frank prompted irritably. She was being deliberately stubborn. Deliberately. Frank could keep her safe. He was sure of that. But the two of them couldn’t go up against Wilson Fisk alone and end this bullshit. He had no desire to keep hidden away from a piece of shit like Fisk. They needed Murdock. Hell, they needed the baby superheroes. 

 

Karen let out an aggravated huff. 

 

“James Wesley.” 

 

Murdock frowned, his brows furrowing. “Wesley. Fisk’s second. He’s dead. So what?” 

 

Karen kept her mouth shut, jaw working as she bit her lip.

 

“Karen,” he murmured. She flicked her eyes over to him and sighed again. 

 

“It was me.”

 

“ _ What _ ?”

 

“Yeah, I’m not repeating myself.” 

 

“Why didn’t--?” His nostrils worked furiously, flaring in and out, as he struggled to keep his cool. Frank kept a wary watch of him, not willing to let him get on her case. He’d give him a chance, though. Murdock leaned forward, whispering furiously. “Why didn’t you tell me?” 

 

Frank didn’t need to look at her to know that her eyebrows were near her hairline and her cheeks were red with anger. He knew that look well enough. Caught the tail end of it a time or two when he was a tad too reckless when he went out. He could deal with her anger. Angry Karen was easy for him. Evidently, it wasn’t for Murdock. 

 

“Karen…” Murdock said pathetically. 

 

“You  _ lied _ to me! Over and over and over! I thought you were drinking yourself to death and sleeping around. That you were just some lawyer with a mission. I was  _ worried _ about you! Maybe I was stupid and blind and obviously too trusting, but you  _ lied _ to me, Matt. I didn’t tell you because I thought you were a decent person who would have turned me in for what I did.” She shoved at Frank, but he resisted. “Let me out, Frank,” she hissed. He sucked air through his teeth and steeled his balls for this next part.

 

“Can’t do that, honey.” 

 

“ _ Frank _ \--”

 

He turned a look on her that she wouldn’t be able to misinterpret. 

 

“You want me to hold him down while you bash his skull in, I will. But later. Because right now, we’ve got a common enemy, and we can’t do this alone.” She looked ready to argue, but he held a finger up to stop her. “I am  _ not _ risking your safety because he’s a dick and you’ve got a chip on your shoulder.” 

 

Her eyes flashed dangerously at him, which did and did not bode well for his evening. It would work itself out, but there would be one hell of a smackdown before that happened. 

 

“He’s right,” Murdock said gruffly, interrupting their staring contest. Karen snapped her attention back to him and Frank was pretty irritated with the loss. “Even without Wesley, you’d be in the crosshairs. Fisk is coming for me. No holds barred. Anyone I’ve associated with is going to be on his hit list. Especially you, Karen, because of our history.” 

 

“We don’t have--”

 

“He means the whole you getting framed for murder thing, Karen,” Frank said with an eye-roll. Karen was fuming right next to him, and this was going to go south pretty quickly, so he needed to speed things up.

 

“You in contact with the rest of the spandex crew?”

 

“What?”

 

Karen’s snort was soft, but appreciated. “He means the others. Jessica, Luke, Danny…”

 

“Yes.” 

 

Karen’s hand clenched into a fist and Frank covered it, squeezing to get her to relax. 

 

“Call a meeting. You can contact me at this number.” He pulled out a card and pushed it toward him. Embossed letters, raised enough that Murdock could read them. It was really satisfying to see the look of surprise flit across the man’s face. “I’ll give you an address, you tell your people.”

 

“ _ You _ will give me an address?” Murdock echoed, voice dripping with skepticism. 

 

“My guy will find us a spot.”

 

“Your guy.”

 

“Yeah, Red, my guy.” 

 

“How do you--?”

 

“You can trust him,” Karen snapped, obviously defensive. Frank smiled. Karen was pretty defensive of all things Lieberman these days. Murdock looked surprised though. 

 

“You know his guy?” 

 

“I  _ found _ his guy,” Karen shot back. She curled an arm around his, leaning into his shoulder. “Can we go, please?” 

 

“Karen…”

 

“I am in no mood--” 

 

“You’d better get there because this is not goin’ away anytime soon.” Her nostrils flared, but he turned his attention back to Murdock. “And you’d best figure out how to grovel cause I was serious about that offer to hold you down.” 

 

With that, he got up, and he helped Karen out of the seat, followed her out. He wasn’t at all surprised that she stormed out without a second look. He also wasn’t surprised at how defeated Murdock looked. He felt bad for the guy, understood his reasons. Thought they were stupid, but he understood them. Personally, he felt that straightforward was the best route with Karen.  If he was going to kill someone, he said so. She could be pissed about it later. He could try to pacify her later. Karen knew who he was. That was the crux of the issue. She didn’t know who Matt Murdock was. Or she didn’t think she did. Maybe ending Fisk was the best way to bring them back together. Platonically. Cause Frank had the rest locked down pretty tight. 

 

Speaking of. 

 

He hurried out of the diner, figuring she’d headed back for her apartment, only to find her propped against the building’s corner next to the alley. Her arms were crossed, head down, hand in her bag. Good girl, still on alert even when she was pissed at him. Her gaze cut to him, sharp and hard and mean. Yikes. 

 

“I’m not talking to you,” she snapped, pushing off the wall and walking directly toward her apartment. Frank shoved his hands in his pockets, following behind.

 

“You waited for me.” 

 

“To tell you I’m not talking to you.” 

 

“You’re talking to me right now.”

 

“ _ Frank _ !” she rounded on him, eyes wide and furious, strands of her hair dislodging from her tight bun. Looked damn beautiful, too. Couldn’t help that his brain went that direction at all, either. Karen was beautiful in a rage. He’d been chained to a table, wearing his orange jumpsuit, staring down death row and he couldn’t help but think it. 

 

“Karen,” he said, coming to a stop when they were nose to nose. That was their thing. Their dynamic. Their flow. Put it on the line and don’t back down. 

 

“I don’t like being manipulated.” 

 

“And if I’d said: hey, let’s meet up with Red to talk logistics. Would you have come?” 

 

“No.”

 

“Exactly.”

 

“Exactly, you manipulated me.”

 

“Exactly, I put your safety first.” He lifted his brows. “I don’t give a damn how much I piss you off, I’m not letting anything happen to you. If that means forcing you and Red to make nice. I’ll do it. That means you kneeing me in the balls. I’ll do it. Because,” he dipped his head forward towards hers to emphasize his point, “you’re what’s important here. And I’d rather Red and his spandex crew put themselves in the crosshairs.” 

 

Karen didn’t back down either, just tipped her head to keep eye contact, lips pulled in. She sighed, dropping her gaze. Frank chucked her under the chin, held her there, not letting her look away. Fire had drained a little, replaced by something much worse. Sadness. Exhaustion. Murdock seemed to have that effect on her. 

 

“I should have told him.” She shut her eyes. Frank stroked a thumb over her chin. 

 

“Yeah, and why didn’t you?” 

 

She licked her lips, head shaking infinitesimally. “I just--I thought I could handle it alone. I’d just lost Ben. It seemed safer.” 

 

“Karen,” he chided.

 

Her eyes flew open. “He was falling apart. We thought he was drinking. Getting into fights. He wasn’t showing up for court. He was obsessed with Fisk. I didn’t think he could handle it. I thought I was helping. I couldn’t--”

 

“Trust him,” Frank finished. “And whose fault was that? Cause it sure as hell wasn’t yours.” 

 

“Thought you were trying to make us best buddies again.” 

 

Frank’s lips quirked into a grin, reading signs of de-stressing in her face. Good signs.

 

“Tertiary goal. If he gets himself shot first, that’s his problem.” 

 

Karen full-body pressed against him, forehead to forehead, belly to belly, her hands clenching his hoodie. Frank wrapped his arms around her, dropped a kiss to the top of her head. 

 

“He won’t stop coming,” Karen said quietly. Frank pulled back just enough to kiss her forehead. 

 

“Nope.” 

 

“Matt won’t do it. He can’t.” 

 

He nuzzled into her hair, let his eyes drift shut. “Then I will.” She inhaled sharply, tensing. 

 

“I’ll be watching. I’ll be waiting.” 

 


End file.
